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Over 20 hospitalized after toxic liquid leak in Switzerland

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Zurich cantonal police of Switzerland reported on Tuesday that hundreds of litres of formaldehyde, a toxic liquid, leaked from a lorry carrying hazardous merchandise in the Uetliberg motorway tunnel, south of Zurich on A3.

According to authorities, the incident happened shortly after 8 o'clock in the morning, and was the result of the lorry driver having to perform an emergency break to avoid a careless manoeuvre carried out by another driver in the tunnel.

Having reached the end of the tunnel of some 4.4 km, the lorry driver noticed the liquid was leaking from the truck's cargo area, at which point he immediately alerted police.

Supported by firefighters, the tunnel was subsequently shut off in both directions so that the situation could be dealt with.

Authorities confirmed that two dozen people who were following the lorry in the tunnel subsequently suffered breathing problems and nausea and were taken to hospital by ambulances as a precautionary measure to monitor their symptoms.

Formaldehyde can be identified by the pungent smell it emits, and it is often used as a textile treatment product as well as in the production of dye. Endit